Initiative Description: Strategic Intervention. School-based humanistic counseling (SBHC) was offered for 12 weeks. This type of counseling is non-directive. Humanistic counselors strive to work in empathic and deeply valuing ways, listening intently to their clients and using the depth of the encounter to understand—and present back to their clients—how they experience their world. Core interventions include reflections and summaries, inviting clients to access and express underlying emotions and needs, and helping them to reflect on and make sense of their experiences, behaviors, and relationships.

School-based humanistic counseling contrasts with CBT in two further ways. First, it is generally delivered in an individual, rather than a group, format. Second, whereas CBT is directed towards specific mental illnesses, SBHC is oriented towards a broader-spectrum construct of psychological distress

Study Results: Reduced overall psychological distress

Reference: McArthur, K., Cooper, M., & Berdondini, L. (2013). School-based humanistic counseling for psychological distress in young people: Pilot randomized controlled trial. Journal of Psychotherapy Research, 23(3), 355-365.

Level of Evidence: Very Good